Last Updated on July 4, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake

Unlocking the bootloader is the first step towards customizing an Android device. When you unlock the bootloader, you allow your phone to accept custom files to be flashed on it. These files include custom recoveries, custom ROMs, and any sort of content that isn’t produced by your manufacturer.

So, if you have got the latest Motorola Moto G (2015) phone, you can have its bootloader unlocked to then flash a custom recovery on it. If that sounds good to you, you can follow the following guide that teaches how you can use the official unlock method to unlock the bootloader on your Moto G – 3rd Gen:

Motorola Moto G 2015

Files You Need

  1. You must have a Windows running computer to do this tutorial.
  2. Unlocking bootloader should wipe off all the data on your phone. So, backup everything that you think is important before proceeding further.
  3. Download ADB to your computer. You’ll need it to issue commands to your phone.
  4. Download and install Motorola USB drivers on your computer, if they aren’t already installed.

Unlocking the Bootloader on the Motorola Moto G (2015)

  1. Right-click on ADB and select Extract here to extract the compressed files.
  2. Head to Menu->Settings->About phone on your phone and tap on Build number for 8 times and it’ll say you’re a developer.
  3. Get back to the main screen of Settings and tap on Developer options. Enable the option that says USB debugging.
  4. Plug in your phone to your computer using a USB cable.
  5. Open the folder where ADB files are located. Hold down Shift on your keyboard and right-click anywhere on your screen and select Open command window here.
  6. Type in the following command into the Command Prompt window that you just opened:
    adb reboot bootloader
  7. Your phone should reboot into bootloader mode.
  8. Once in bootloader mode, issue the following command:
    fastboot oem get_unlock_data
  9. You’ll see a string of text on your screen. Copy it all without any spaces in them. Use Notepad to strip off the spaces so that it looks a single-lengthy code rather than a couple of separate codes.
  10. Head over to the Motorola Bootloader website.
  11. Get yourself-logged in (create a new account if you don’t already have one).
  12. Copy and paste the string that you got in the step-9 into the box given on the website and click on Can my device be unlocked?.
  13. Click on the Request Unlock Key button and you’ll receive an unlock key on your email address.
  14. Open your inbox and copy the unlock key to your clipboard.
  15. Get back to the Command Prompt window and type in the following command replacing KEY with the key that you copied to your clipboard.
    fastboot oem unlock KEY
  16. It should unlock the bootloader on your phone.
  17. When it’s done unlocking the bootloader, reboot your phone by issuing the following command:
    fastboot reboot
  18. You’re all done!

The bootloader on your Motorola Moto G (2015) has been successfully unlocked and your phone is now ready to be flashed with a custom recovery.

You might also be interested in:

You can subscribe to our RSS, follow us on Twitter or like our Facebook page to keep on consuming more tech.